Hello! Kia orana! Talofa lava! Taloha ni! Praise God for 2012!

 The prayer week services of our Cook Islanders’ group during the first week of the new year also continued the theme of how God works in our life. Following the Scripture Union daily reading the overarching theme of “The Word of God” set the platform for focusing on different aspects of the word of God for each day of the week. The services were well attended despite some of our community being away for the holidays and it was very encouraging to have had non-Cook Islanders participate and share their thoughts on the topic and questions for each day. It was especially exciting to hear how the services enabled our young people to continue discussions in their homes afterwards. Already I have witnessed encouraging signs within my own family. Thanks be to God.

 Speaking of family, during the Christmas and New Year period, the manse was a hive of activity. Since our summer weather was exceptional we had family members from the Cook Islands, Australia and Auckland who wanted to holiday with us here in Dunedin (where else?). St. Clair beach, Moana Pools and Doctor’s Point were the usual places to hang out. We pitched up a tent on the back lawn where the boys could annoy the birds and insects with their snoring. Volleyball net was also set up and with the long daylight hours, friends coming around, and high energy levels it sometimes meant games going on longer than we would have liked. Despite the chaos and noise at times, it was great to have a sense that the manse was alive and able to make noise rather than always having to hear it from the outside. On a bitter-sweet note, our son Emmanuel has left for Auckland for a new employment opportunity and we wish him well for that. No doubt he will have to return home at some point because since losing a bet with me on an NFL game, he has to help lead a service with me here at First Church. Let’s hope his return is sooner rather than later, even if for a visit.

 Now back on board with work, I’m looking forward to our journey together in 2012. Sometimes it’s much easier to go through the motions and do the things we’ve always done before. Those things have been great and we need to acknowledge that, but I think we also need some new things to challenge us so that we do not get too comfortable with what we’ve been used to. I wonder if we could consider how we might do mission differently this year. Sometimes it’s much safer to do things based on worship services, but mission can also take different forms. I would be very interested to hear your thoughts and hopefully we can discern together a creative and relevant way of sharing the good news of Christ to our community.

Thank you and God bless.  

 SUNDAY WORSHHIP AT FIRST CHURCH

 10am Morning Worship,  12 noon Cook Islands Service,  2.00pm Samoan Service

Ministers: Revs Tokerau Joseph and Anne Thomson – Office Phone 477 7150